Thanks very much. I must have picked it up at a thrift store or something. Either that or Charolette Russe or somewhere. It's funny, whenever I go to the mall with my friends, they look for jeans and make-up while I head down to the costume store.

I wish I knew how to sew/had more money for something a bit more...Phantom-like?

I went back and looked at that black and fuscia paisley brocade again tonight, and I think it's actually a very good option.

Compare it to the real deal:

It's not perfect, of course. The pattern is way off but at least it's not little fake Asian flowers, and the color is extremely close when under similar lighting. It's also only $10/yard, not including my 15% employee discount, so that makes it even more attractive to me. And it's brocade. I really want to use brocade.

What do you guys think?

Last edited by phantomgirl110 on Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:47 am; edited 1 time in total

I suppose I can't get a better endorsement than that! I'm not going to buy it just yet - especially since I think I'll probably have to get more ordered from a different location, as there are only a couple of yards left on the role in my store - but I'm going to keep a close eye on it.

I've never seen a paisley jacket for Meg, but I've definitely seen a few that are of the swirly variety.

Lara Glew in Essen, Sabrina Harper in Hamburg, and Jennifer Wagstaffe in Copenhagen

I'm not really sure why I'm suddenly being such a stickler for fabric this time around. With the crazy amount of variety this costume has all over the world, I could probably buy something rainbow striped and tell people it's what Meg wore in a little-known Bulgarian production or something.

phantomgirl110 wrote:I went back and looked at that black and fuscia paisley brocade again tonight, and I think it's actually a very good option.

http://i33.tinypic.com/2d7sxnd.png

Compare it to the real deal:

http://i37.tinypic.com/2n6fcyw.png

It's not perfect, of course. The pattern is way off but at least it's not little fake Asian flowers, and the color is extremely close when under similar lighting. It's also only $10/yard, not including my 15% employee discount, so that makes it even more attractive to me. And it's brocade. I really want to use brocade.

What do you guys think?

Go for it! It has just the right texture, shine and colour effect, from what I can tell - not just for the Vegas version but also for the general look. I could also have sworn I had seen a Meg jacket made my a paisley fabric of some sort, but I really can't find any pics of it. But as you've show underneath, a variety of fabrics and fabrics have been used in the past: plain velvet, multi-coloured brocade, dotted fabric, "zebra" texture... So I don't think there's any "wrong" fabrics for the costume, as long as the unity looks right. And the fabric you've posted overneath sure looks right!

_________________JOSEFINE TO THE PHANTOM:You come off as... somewhat... rough...

I think the paisley brocade looks great. I'd definitely use that if I was making that costume. No the pattern isn't the same but I think it will give the right effect. It's pink on black too, not black on pink so that's important too. It's such a pretty materials. The price is pretty sweet too. Even if you found the actual Vegas material, it's likely to be ridiculously expensive anyway.

I'll echo the others... Go for it! It will be awesome to see what your new version of the costume will be. The other looked pretty nice from what I've seen in photos.

edited: I was 100% sure I'd seen a Meg in a paisley outfit too. Can't find any pictures though. Did we all have the same dream or what? lol I don't think it was a brocade I'd seen though but a velvet with a paisley pattern in it. I much prefer the paisley brocade you found phantomgirl.

Last edited by MasqPhan on Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:19 pm; edited 1 time in total

_________________Keeper of the Vegas Phantom deformity and Meg's Hannibal costumeAvatar by Raphael.

Thanks for all the encouragement, everyone! Now I just have to decide if I want to take the plunge and buy now, or keep looking just a bit longer in case I happen to find something even better. I'm afraid to buy this and end up having wasted money. I'm also not sure how much I'm going to need. I can start with what I needed for my first try as a jumping-off point, but now that I've seen the real deal I can see that my previous design was...less than perfect.

Here's a question for those of you with more sewing experience than me (which is probably all of you): I noticed that the lower back of Brianne's coat is sort of pleated/accordian-folded, and the folds are threaded together loosely. I assume this is to make the coat bottom voluminous without being ridiculously puffy and also probably to help with the shape, but is there a proper name for what that is and how the heck might I go about recreating that?

Wow, that fabric is really really beautiful. Even if it's not the exact thing, it's just TOO pretty to pass up! You've made me totally want to pick up my old costume and finish it/re-do it! There's always a chance I can make it to next year's Fans Week.

phantomgirl110 wrote:Thanks for all the encouragement, everyone! Now I just have to decide if I want to take the plunge and buy now, or keep looking just a bit longer in case I happen to find something even better. I'm afraid to buy this and end up having wasted money. I'm also not sure how much I'm going to need. I can start with what I needed for my first try as a jumping-off point, but now that I've seen the real deal I can see that my previous design was...less than perfect.

The eternal dilemma, huh? Well, it's the perfect color and VERY close in overall look, so since you figure out how much you need, ultimately it's a question of how common the fabric is (if you wait a few months, will you still be able to find it) and how likely your chances are to find something better.

Being one who has hesitated and wound up missing opportunities that never come again, I would buy it as soon as I knew how much I'd need.

R.

_________________Proud former member of TMCPMCKeeper of Brianne Morgan's Masquerade hip-swishwww.phantoonsoftheopera.com

phantomgirl110 wrote:Here's a question for those of you with more sewing experience than me (which is probably all of you): I noticed that the lower back of Brianne's coat is sort of pleated/accordian-folded, and the folds are threaded together loosely. I assume this is to make the coat bottom voluminous without being ridiculously puffy and also probably to help with the shape, but is there a proper name for what that is and how the heck might I go about recreating that?

Mandy,

That sounds like what they do for the pleating on the Red Death cape on the left side. It helps maintain the draped effect.

As for that brocade--it looks awesome! I'd buy it. What if you don't find something better down the road? Then you still won't have fabric, and this stuff will be gone. How much of it was available? I ran into the same problem making Red Death. I didn't know how much to get, so I ended up buying a ton of fabric--usually 10 yds at a time. Thank goodness I did though--it would've sucked to come up short.

I agree with the others on grabbing onto this fabric while you can. If there already isn't enough in your store, it could be running low at the others. You'll be kicking yourself if that happens. Been there done that.

Sure you might find something nicer later on but I think the odds of this current great fabric disappearing off the shelves is higher. It's so gorgeous that I could easily see it not lasting long at all. And if you do buy it and by chance something better comes along, you could always sell the old material on eBay.

_________________Keeper of the Vegas Phantom deformity and Meg's Hannibal costumeAvatar by Raphael.

I'm going to ask about getting more yardage from another location tomorrow. Everything you're all saying makes total sense and matches the thoughts that have been swimming in my mind all day - it could disappear, I might not find anything better, I could always resell it - plus, since I'd really like to move into a theatre job, I should snatch it before I cease to be an employee and thereby lose my discount.

phantomfett wrote:

phantomgirl110 wrote:Here's a question for those of you with more sewing experience than me (which is probably all of you): I noticed that the lower back of Brianne's coat is sort of pleated/accordian-folded, and the folds are threaded together loosely. I assume this is to make the coat bottom voluminous without being ridiculously puffy and also probably to help with the shape, but is there a proper name for what that is and how the heck might I go about recreating that?

Mandy,

That sounds like what they do for the pleating on the Red Death cape on the left side. It helps maintain the draped effect.

phantomgirl110 wrote:Here's a question for those of you with more sewing experience than me (which is probably all of you): I noticed that the lower back of Brianne's coat is sort of pleated/accordian-folded, and the folds are threaded together loosely. I assume this is to make the coat bottom voluminous without being ridiculously puffy and also probably to help with the shape, but is there a proper name for what that is and how the heck might I go about recreating that?

I looked at pictures without finding what you described. Do you have a picture reference of some sort?

Sounds like they've been inspired by the late Baroque / early Rococo jackets called "justacorops", though. It has neat folds in the back, gathered into "accordian" pleats. Here's a layout for such a jacket and waistcoat:http://www.costumes.org/history/leloir/justaucorpspattern.jpg

_________________JOSEFINE TO THE PHANTOM:You come off as... somewhat... rough...

after being absent, (cause I was working on a certain project...)I have pic's! The Elissa skirt pleating is done!now all I have to do is decorate it with gold XX's and tassels!I think that this skirt is the only one(in replicas and actual costumes) that has the ribbons on the pleating matching the back-drapes. I could however be wrong in thinking his.... https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/my%20costume%20replicas/IMAG1682.jpghttps://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/my%20costume%20replicas/IMAG1681.jpghttps://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/my%20costume%20replicas/IMAG1680.jpghttps://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/my%20costume%20replicas/IMAG1679.jpg

littlelotty004 wrote:after being absent, (cause I was working on a certain project...)I have pic's! The Elissa skirt pleating is done!now all I have to do is decorate it with gold XX's and tassels!I think that this skirt is the only one(in replicas and actual costumes) that has the ribbons on the pleating matching the back-drapes. I could however be wrong in thinking this....

My God, that is beautiful! And what a progress! I am very impressed.

_________________JOSEFINE TO THE PHANTOM:You come off as... somewhat... rough...

I have loved (and wanted) a version of Christine’s dressing gown since I first saw the show in 1994. Sandra Joseph let me try on her version once (when I was 14 in 1997) and that moment can be seen here:

Several years later I had one made:

And now…a dream of mine has come true! I own a REAL one (that I acquired from PhantomJT). I still can’t believe it! It is a dressing gown from the London production that was used in the 1990s. Pictures are below!

That was actually the most interesting part for me - to see the progress of how you first tried on "the real deal"; how you got a replica made, and how you're now owning "the real deal". And it's a lovely version you own, thanks for sharing those pictures.

_________________JOSEFINE TO THE PHANTOM:You come off as... somewhat... rough...

Thank you all for the photos, especially the close-up ones. I've never been backstage nor seen any of the costumes except from the audience. The dresses have so much more detail in them than I'd have expected!

Speaking of replica masks...I was browsing google images to find a good picture of a mask for a little photoshopping idea and found this picture from a catalog. It just looks so wrong...Phantom meets Pimpernel, maybe?

Paula74 wrote:Speaking of replica masks...I was browsing google images to find a good picture of a mask for a little photoshopping idea and found this picture from a catalog. It just looks so wrong...Phantom meets Pimpernel, maybe?